Katy Sexton Bests Sarah Price as Both Women Break 100m Backstroke Commonwealth Record at British Trials

By Craig Lord

MANCHESTER, England, March 20. BRITISH swimming found itself celebrating two of the fastest women in
history over 100 metres backstroke tonight when Katy Sexton shattered the Commonwealth record to book her place at the world championships and leave the previous holder, Sarah Price, stunned that a best time had no longer been good enough to retain her national title.

It was, and is likely to remain, the most unexpected result at the trials to select the team that will represent Great Britain in Barcelona in July. But it was not Price's first domestic defeat over 100 metres in more than three years that caused the Commonwealth champion and onlookers to catch breath but the times on the scoreboard: 1min 00.49sec, the sixth
fastest ever on a list that includes an embarrasment of Chinese and East Germans, and 1min 00.77sec, the ninth fastest.

Of those currently competing, only world record holder Natalie Coughlin, of the US, has swum faster, with that sub-1-minute stormer recently. The Commonwealth record had stood to Price at 1:01.06sec before the trials here in Manchester, while Price had lowered the mark to 1:00.94sec in the semi-final.

Sexton, coached by Chris Nesbitt in Portsmouth and whose best before the championships was 1min 01.80sec, was overjoyed: "O my God! I'm not going to sleep tonight," she said. "I knew I was capable of doing a good time but had no idea I'd go that fast." She put her new found speed down to the weight-training she has introduced to her programme since the Commonwealth Games in Manchester last year, where she finished third behind Price in the 200 metres and so lost a title she had won as a hugely promising 15-year-old in 1998.

While Price, coached by Rhys Gormley in London, was being "beasted" on world-cup tour in Europe with Bill Sweetenham, performance director, this winter, Sexton was on a three-week training at Britain's official offshore training camp on the Gold Coast in Australia. "That's definitely helped," she said before the understatement caused her to burst into laughter.

There was none of that from Price, who congratulated Sexton with an emotional hug that had both women in tears. Price's gesture was both sportsmanlike and gracious but her face told the picture of one determined not to let it happen again. "I'm disappointed with that," she said. "All credit to Katy but no one likes to get beaten and I certainly don't
…it's just not good enough. But I'll get on the team and I'll fight back."

Price has three more chances to qualify for the second berth, the final one at the Scottish national championships in Glasgow in June.

The race after Sexton's stunner was somewhat
over-shadowed, which was a pity given that it produced a 2mins 11.56sec effort over 200m breaststroke
from Ian Edmond. The time, a Scottish record, was just 0.27sec outside Olympic and world championship medal winner Nick Gillingham's British record, marked the 11th fastest ever and will take Edmond to Barcelona.

OTHER EVENTS

Women's 400m medley
Britain's weakness in this event continues, particularly in the absence of Rebecca Cooke, who withdrew from the final to concentrate on the final of
the 800 metres freestyle which fell in the same session courtesy of efforts to squeeze an eight-day programme into five for the trials.

The title went to 17-year-old Rebecca Shaw, of Leeds, in a personal best of 4mins 50.53sec, ahead of teammate 16-year-old Julia Preston, on 4:51.73sec,
also a best time. Thea Evanson, of Loughborough University, was third on 4:55.05sec.

Men's 100m butterfly

Four times world short-course champion over 200 metres butterfly, James Hickman suffered his first domestic defeat over 100m butterfly for the first time since 1994 at the hands of 19-year-old Todd Cooper, of Stirling, who set a Scottish record of 53.68sec. The record had been Todd's at 54.09sec since the semi-finals yesterday.

Britain was not represented over 100 and 200m butterfly at the last world championships in Japan, both Hickman and Stephen Parry having failed to make the grade set by Sweetenham's first push to "raise the bar". The bar has since been raised further, dictating Hickman had to shave 0.05sec off his British record of 52.87sec, set in Ponds Forge at the Olympic trials in 2000, to book a place in Barcelona.

Hickman, 27, was in no shape to rival his best last night, nor indeed the Scottish record of 53.68sec in which it took Todd Cooper, of Stirling, to beat him by 0.10sec. Hickman had won every national title over 100m since 1994, first under the guidance of coach Dave Calleja at Stockport and since 1998 while guided at Leeds by coach Terry Denison, who will retire
after these trials.

But neither domestic nor international successes gone by are recognised or respected by Britain's mission to have Sweetenham guide its swimmers to the Olympic medal rostrum in a world that never stands still. Winner of four world and three European titles in a short-course pool, Hickman knows that his supremacy in a 25-metre pool and superb turning skills are
irrelevant when it comes to the summer long-course season.

Hickman said: "I'm disappointed with my speed – it's not there at the moment. It was a great swim by Todd." Cooper was disappointed not to have gone even faster but was happy with his first national title.

Hickman must now set his sights to the resumption of battle with Stephen Parry over 200 metres on Sunday and has a second chance to qualify for Barcelona at the Scottish national championships in Glasgow in June.

Women's 50m breaststroke

Zoe Baker's world-title bid remained on course last night when she booked her place on the Great Britain team bound for Barcelona in July with a solid performance over 50 metres breaststroke at the trials in Sheffield.

In the absence of rivals from the same league, it was little surprise that Baker, 27, fell 0.91sec shy of the 30.57sec world record she set to claim the Commonwealth crown in Manchester last year.
Nonetheless, in retaining her British title in 31.48sec – the trials also double as national championships – Baker, 27, was well inside the 31.99sec required to qualify for the world championships in Spain and a world away from the next home, 15-year-old Kate Haywood, of Lincoln, on 32.67sec.

Baker said: "I'm not in the best shape of my life…a second outside my world record. It's my first long-course final since the Commonwealth Games. It's hard because everyone thinks you're going to get in the water to break a record but it doesn't happen like that. I'm aiming to break the world record in Barcelona."

Baker will prepare for her world title bid in Britain after deciding to return from her adopted home of the past five years in New Zealand. "It's been a tough decision," said Baker. "After the trials I'll return to
New Zealand for six weeks to start my preparation for the world championships before returning permanently in mid-May."

She will not return to Sheffield, however, but Loughborough University, which now built up a very strong squad under the guidance of coach Ian Armiger.
"I'm now swimming under Loughborough University because I found that whenever I returned to the UK I was spending most of my time there," said Baker.
"I have good friends there, they have a fantastic new 50m facility and the Loughborough team are a very vocal lot when racing and this is very important."

Baker will now concentrate on improving her time over 100m, which, unlike the 50 metres, is an Olympic event and the only one that can secure her a place in Athens next year.

Men's 50m backstroke

Commonwealth champion over 200 metres backstroke, Stockport's James Goddard, 19, took his first national 50-metres title in 26.42sec and then returned to the water an hour later to shatter the British 200m record, in 1min 58.97sec, to qualify fastest for Friday's final.

With all three medal winners aged between 17 and 20 over 50 metres, it was little wonder that none of them had the strength and speed required to achieve the qualifying standard to take them to Barcelona, of 25.89sec.

There is hope for the future: Exeter's Liam Tancock, 17, was second in 26.57sec, with third place going to University of Bath's Matthew Clay, 20, on 26.74sec, although 50-metre races, not part of the Olympic programme, do not figure in performance director Bill Sweetenham's book of favourites.

Meanwhile, Sweetenham's policy dictates that Goddard's 1min 58.97sec will not guarantee him a place in Barcelona. Though inside the selection time, selection rests on doing the time in the final. That will be a
blistering affair: the man who took the silver behind Goddard in Manchester last year, Gregor Tait, of Edinburgh, established a Scottish record of 1min
59.23sec in the same semi-final and with that also found himself inside the previous British record, which had stood at 1min 59.52sec to former
Commonwealth champion Adam Ruckwood since 1995.

Goddard, who spent the first five years of his life living in the Seychelles before his family moved to live under more leden skies in Stockport, Northern England, said: "That's what the plan was tonight, to to
get inside the qualifying time and then see if I can repeat it tomorrow in the final. With Gregor next to me always got to stay on my toes. There's always that bit of pressure with him there and he also swam inside record time so let's see what tomorrow brings.

Goddard looked up to the stands to wave at Ruckwood and said of the record, with a smile: "It's about time it went – it's been there too long."

Women's 50m freestyle

Even champions can get it wrong. Alison Sheppard's mistake made little difference to the result, victory and qualification for Barcelona, but it made a huge difference to the time.

Sheppard, 30, stormed down the pool in a class of her own and had placed a clear gap between her toes and the fingers of rivals going into the final 5 metres. With head down and arms motoring it looked as though Sheppard would clock a time inside 24.50sec. And then came the mistake, an extra stroke that looked as illogical as it was unnecessary. The clock sighed the
result: 24.98sec.

"I'm really disappointed with my finish," said Sheppard. "I messed up when I took that extra stroke and it lost me time. I wanted to go under 25 seconds so in that sense I've got to be satisfied with that. May be it could have been quicker, but I'll learn from it – that's what racing's all about."

Sweetenham, who has described Sheppard as the "model professional" agreed: "Yep, that was a real mess of a finish. She'll have to look at that and make sure it doesn't happen again."

Second place went to Rosalind Brett, of Loughborough University, on 25.92sec, and third to Kathryn Evans, of Nottingham's Nova Centurion, on 26.16sec.

Women's 200m butterfly

With Georgina Lee given leave of absence to compete in the NCAA's in the US, the 200m butterfly did not produce performances that merited selction for Barcelona. The title went to Loughborough University's Sarah Pyne, 22, in 2min 15.48sec.

Women's 800m freestyle

Rebecca Cooke, who trains in Glasgow with coach Stephen Hill, cruised to a comfortable 8mins 36.35sec victory and qualification for Barcelona.

Men's 100m freestyle

Chris Cozens, of Loughborough University, raced inside 50 seconds for the second time in two days, to win in 49.90sec, not good enough to take him to Barcelona.

2003 British Championships (50m)
19/03/2003 to 23/03/2003
DAY TWO: March 20, 2003